TV chef Ariana Bundy to open debut restaurant in Dubai

Ariana Bundy said she is on a mission to bring Persian cuisine to a wider audience.

By Sam Bridge

Thu 06 Dec 2018 02:33 PM

Ariana Bundy, the Iranian-American celebrity chef, has chosen Dubai to open her debut restaurant.

The popular TV chef and cookbook author is due to open Ariana’s Persian Kitchen at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences which is due to open on the Palm next year.

“The stunning design of the resort convinced me that this was the ideal time and place to open my first restaurant,” said Bundy.

Bundy said she is on a mission to bring Persian cuisine to a wider audience. Following the success of her book Pomegranates and Roses: My Persian Family Recipes, she went on to write, produce and present the cookery and travel series, Ariana’s Persian Kitchen. The eight-part TV show launched on NatGeo People and has aired in over 40 countries.

The restaurant will offer sample signature dishes such as Ariana’s Caspian-style filet kabab, rose-scented sea bass, new mazzeh dishes, and her take on classic Persian ice cream with saffron, pistachios and rose water.

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It will seat more than 140 guests offering sea views over the Dubai skyline from wooden ‘day beds’ in a garden terrace. Features of note also include a romantic cordial bar, vaulted domes and a private dining room. At the heart of the restaurant is an extensive show kitchen featuring a massive charcoal grill and fire pit Tanoor serving fresh breads.

Martin Chung, SVP, Global Development at The Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences said: “We have big expectations for Ariana’s Persian Kitchen. There is really nothing in the region that fuses a contemporary dining experience with the authenticity of the Persian cuisine.”

After learning her craft at Le Cordon Bleu and Le Notre in Paris and training at Fauchon Patisserie, Ariana became the head pastry chef for the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, catering for the Oscars and Golden Globes as well as movie premieres.

She joins a host of names in the new hotel. Also opening in the new hotel next year are Jaleo, from chef José Andrés, and it will also be home to Dinner from Heston Blumenthal, the British chef behind The Fat Duck.